1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to containers and more particularly to dispensing containers of the squeeze type.
2. Prior Art
Dispensing containers are extremely common and include molded plastic containers which, due to the resiliency and elastic memory of the plastic, function as squeeze type containers. These containers are generally used in association with dispensing caps such as, for example, caps having dispensing spouts, openings, orifices, etc. In order to use such containers, it is generally necessary that the container be inverted so that the fluid is flowed to the spout area of the cap for expulsion therefrom when the volumetric capacity of the container is decreased by squeezing.
In order to avoid the necessity of upending the container, it has been known to utilize tubes extending from the dispensing portion of the cap downwardly through the fluid to the bottom of the container. When such containers are squeezed, the elevation of the internal pressure by reason of the volumetric reduction will force the fluid through the tube, then through the dispenser of the cap. While such tube type dispensing containers may be generally effective for some fluids, they are expensive to assemble in that they require the assembly of the tube onto the cap and the hand assembly of the cap onto the container, the presence of the tube being such as to generally interfere with the use of standard cap attaching machinery.
Further, standard prior art dispensing type containers which are squeezable generally must be formed of relatively thin materials and the materials selected must fall within a relatively narrow range in view of the necessity of the container's resiliency being strong enough to cause the container to return to the unsqueezed shape after having been sqeezed. Where such containers are used in connection with tube dispensers, i.e., that type of cap which relies upon a depending dispensing tube, and where the material to be dispensed is relatively thick, the dispensing container may not have adequate strength to return to its unsqueezed condition. This is particularly true where it is necessary for the atmosphere then to be drawn back into the interior of the container through the dispensing opening and the dispensing tube.
It would be a significant advance in the art to provide an improved dispensing container and cap combination which eliminates one or more of the above disadvantages.